This application is based upon and claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-317481, filed Nov. 9, 1998, the contents being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a management system and method for assembling parts information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a structural element data management system and method, and a computer readable data storage medium to store a structural element data management program.
2. Description of the Related Art
The process of designing and producing industrial products may be divided into several types of processes including a conceptual design process for discussing the functional specifications of a product and for evaluating total design and functional performance of each unit through numerical analysis; a detail design process for designing details of each unit; a trial manufacturing process for confirming the total design content; a producing and designing process for designing assembling procedures and production line for each unit and scheduling arrangement of necessary parts; and a producing process for actual mass-production of a product.
In the detail design process, a computer-aided design system (CAD) which can process drawings as electronic data is in widespread use for assuring highly efficient design and engineering of an existing product. A Product Data Management system (PDM) has been introduced as a tool for administration of a large amount of data generated as described above. In operation of the PDM, information related to individual drawings, such as location of drawing information, date of design and name of designer, can be administered. Moreover, related information (i.e., product structural information) of assembled units and parts, and work flow of a design job, such as approval of design contents and request for output of drawing, can also be administered.
In the case of designing electronic devices, such as a personal computer or audio visual device, the detail design process may be classified into a design job to design the outline of the product and internal mechanical units and a design job to design electronic circuits and printed circuit substrates. These two types of design jobs are different from each other to a large extent in the knowledge required for design, design profile and job know-how. Therefore, the tool for assuring a highly efficient design job, such as CAD, is also largely different in the functional specification and there is no compatibility in its electronic data. Because of the differences in the two types of design jobs, respective design jobs are generally conducted in different departments, and the PDM has also been structured as the system for realizing highly efficient jobs in different departments.
On the other hand, in performing the trial manufacturing process and production/design process, which are considered to be the post-process of the detail design process, order issuing and receiving of necessary parts are conducted and the assembling process of a product is designed based on the drawings delivered as an accomplishment from the respective design sections. Further, the introduction of the Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) is scheduled as a system to realize high efficiency of these jobs. ERP is useful to determine how many products should be produced during which period, and also to plan the number of required units and parts to be ordered and an ordering period thereof on the basis of the product delivery schedule.
A series of jobs may be linked to further improve efficiency by providing an interface between the respective systems structured for each process and a department. However, development of a system having integrated respective systems is now underway.
To advance the integration of systems, the PDM or ERP development makers and consulting firms which are engaged in the consulting job for setting up the systems continue to discuss methods of realizing integration by fully introducing the maximum efficiency of jobs of each process and department.
In the producing and designing department for making parts, ordering parts and instructing production, the number of required parts is calculated based on the structural drawings indicating the parts structuring of each product or assembling parts and structural element information, such as a parts list providing detailed information of parts required for assembling.
At present, many series of products are required in producing only one product. For example, with a product such as a personal computer, the cabinet comes in a variety of different colors, and certain types of products are to be shipped to foreign countries. However, problems occur when it is required to change to a part having the same shape, but a different color, or to change to a part having the same function but a different operating voltage. More specifically, even if the detail of the corresponding structural elements is changed in the producing and designing department by performing parts ordering and issuing the production of the structural element designated only by the original parts list in accordance with the change, the producing and designing department cannot directly obtain, in the form of electronic data, the structural element information of the similar parts which may be used in the same manner. Therefore, it has been difficult to provide a flexible response, and it has also been requested to issue again the instruction in the form of a new structural drawings and new parts lists by intentionally starting again the jobs from the concept design department and detail design department.
Moreover, presently, almost all products in the assembling system are structured by including circuit parts, such as electronic circuits and substrates, and mechanical parts, such as the external shape of the product and the internal mechanical unit. However, because the circuit parts and mechanical parts are designed in different manners in different departments, in order to produce a particular product, the producing and design department has been requested to perform complicated and troublesome jobs, such as accurately calculating the number of required parts by summarizing the parts information obtained individually from respective design departments.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems of the known systems of designing and producing products, and to provide a structural element data management system and method which can easily and accurately execute a change of parts structure of a product and management of the required parts.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer readable data storage medium to store a program to realize such data management.
Objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with a structural element data management system for management of data regarding a product or a part and a structural element forming the product or part, comprising structural element displaying means for displaying a relationship between a product or part and a structural element forming the product or part; and system element relationship displaying means for displaying a relationship between a plurality of products or parts of a same system and a plurality of structural elements.
The system element relationship displaying means displays a relationship diagram of a system which is the same as a product or part designated by an operator for the display by the structural element displaying means.
The structural element displaying means displays identification information regarding the system of products or parts, and the system element relationship displaying means displays a relationship diagram of the system of products or parts indicated by identification information designated by an operator.
The structural element displaying means hierarchically displays a relationship between a product or part and a structural element.
The system element relationship displaying means displays the relationship between the plurality of products or parts of the same system and the plurality of structural elements in a matrix format diagram.
The number of structural elements used in each product or part of the same system is displayed in the matrix format diagram.
The structural element data management system may further comprise a structural element information memory means for storing a relationship between a structural drawing corresponding to each structural element and a version number of a parts list, wherein the system element relationship displaying means displays a version number of each drawing and a list.
The structural element data management system may further comprise a system registering means for registering relationship information between an additional product or part of the same system and structural elements forming the product or part with reference to a relationship diagram displayed by the system element displaying means.
Objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with a structural element data management system for administration of data regarding a product or part and a structural element forming the product or part, comprising system element relationship displaying means for displaying a diagram showing a relationship between a plurality of products or parts of the same system and a plurality of structural elements; and system registering means for registering relationship information between additional products or parts of the same system and structural element of the products or parts.
The structural element data management system may further comprise information to identify whether each structural element is a mechanical element or a circuit element, wherein any of the mechanical element or circuit element is displayed in response to designation of the mechanical element or circuit element as a display object.
Objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with a computer readable memory medium encoded with processing instructions for implementing a structural element data management method for administration of data regarding a product or part and a structural element forming the product or part, the method comprising displaying a relationship between a designated product or part and a structural element forming the product or part; and displaying a diagram indicating a relationship between a plurality of products or parts of the same system and a plurality of structural elements.
Objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved in accordance with embodiments of the present invention with a computer readable memory medium encoded with processing instructions for implementing a structural element data management method of administrating data regarding a product or part and a structural element forming the product or parts, the method comprising displaying a diagram indicating a relationship between a plurality of products or parts of the same system and a plurality of structural elements; and registering relationship information between an additional product or part of the same system and a structural element forming the product or part by referring to displayed relationship diagram.